Of Stories, Conversations and Home

One of the best stories I've heard so far goes like this.

In an island of great prosperity, there once lived a group of people who were self sufficient. While the elders went fishing in the morning or worked in fields, children went to school and in the evening, they would gather to talk about the day, celebrate their food, play, sing and dance. It was a harmonious environment that the so called 'modern' world would die to achieve. One day, a bunch of people in suits arrive in a bid to promote their business in this hugely prosperous land. The pitch goes like this - Instead of just fishing enough for your family, why don't you try to catch more and export them, make a ton of money, build a great port, send your children to schools around the world and put yourselves on the map?

The locals go - Ok, so what next? To this, our man in the Armani cut suit says - After doing all this, sell all your boats, leave behind all the unnecessary things you bought when you were rich and settle in an island where you can enjoy some peace and quiet. A man politely stands up and says, 'Isn't that we are doing now? Why do we need to go through all the pain to achieve something we already have?' This also reminds me of a quote which says - Man travels in search of something, only to find it at home.

Now, before you jump to conclusions, let me clear a few things for you. I like travelling, exploring, venturing out as much as the next person, but isn't that an awesome story to assess where you stand in life? When you think about it, we do most of the things only to get back and realise that we had everything at home.

The thought process started very early in the morning as I started chatting with my friend who (in our conversations at least) really misses his hometown. Not just the convenience of getting up late and going for a stroll to have some piping hot coffee, but the general notion of being comfortable in your surroundings; something we all strive to achieve at some point. While this is the ultimatum, the paths taken are different. Having a circle of friends with various interests and ambitions is an amazing source of learning. There certainly is more to wonder about things we are not aware of rather than discuss the similarities shared.

In this day and age, we find little time to catch up and once the niceties get out of the way, one of the most common things I hear is how much they miss things here. It really got me thinking if I am undervaluing what I have rather than chase fancier sounding words like parties, expensive cars and exotic locations.

I have been going back and forth on this quite a lot. Like most things in life, in order to understand the value of something you already have, it's important to lose it. Once you taste desperate you start valuing the smallest of courtesies like how the old man across the street smiled at you every time you walked by, yet never bothered getting to know him.

As I embark on another journey and move out of my comfort zone, I'm really hoping to find answers to so many questions that I have asked myself. What is it about home that makes us all nostalgic though we know we want to go out there and explore? Why does novelty value of doing something new fade away so quickly that we start regretting and wish things were back to 'normalcy'? From what I have seen and heard of, even the richest folks on earth (both in money and power), at the end of the day, want to get back home; to their families and loved ones. If this is all we need, whatever is wrong with not over doing the introspection and embracing, you know, homoeostasis?